Reviews by MAB:

OMG, is this ever a great beer!Had it on-tap at Hop-In Brew (Nov. 16th).

The darkest brown head (on a pitch black stout) that I have ever encountered.Roasted malt aroma is heavenly.Flavors come at you fast and furious. It's malty, it's smoky, it's caramel, it's....absolutely delicious.My only complaint was that, because the higher alcohol level, I couldn't have more than one and still drive home that night. (415 characters)

More User Reviews:

I have sampled this stout a few times in the past but now I can get it here it my area and at a pretty good price!Poured jet black into an imperial pint glass with a sticky lighter mocha colored one finger white head that stuck like glue to the glass as it settled into a frothy mass.Dark fruit,bitter chocolate,and heavy roast in the nose,quite earthy as well,this a definition of American style stout here,heavy roast and earth.Dryer flavors on the palate,big bitter chocolate and French roast coffee flavors, with subdued dark fruit, and molasses,its earthy and somewhat woody in the finish.If you like heavy roast and earth in your stout this is it for you.Very nice.

Appearance  Blacker than black with a very dark tan head that foamed up big and lasted forever, lacing the glass as it went down.

Smell  Big, very dark chocolate leads the way here followed by deep, roasted malts and fine espresso beans (not espresso but the raw, whole beans). Theres also a nice hop balance in there (citrus maybe) plus a soft sour tang.

Taste  Everything comes out beautifully at the taste. For all the big smells up front, this one is very even and balanced at the tongue. This is almost like a milkshake complete with cocoa and sweet chocolate, espresso (subdued from the nose), malt, and a very light, barely detectable sweet/sour note.

Mouthfeel  Smooth and chewy and medium in the body. This is a serious stout with a somewhat bitter finish.

Drinkability  One of the better stouts that Ive tasted from the NW. Most of them are pretty lame (Hales Pikop Andropov's almost made me vomit), but this one is the real deal.

Update  I rated this originally with a 2003 vintage so thought it would be run to take another look at it using an 04 bottle. It happily lost the slight sourness this time around and really is one of the better examples of the style brewed here in the PacNW.

Update  I had a 2005 vintage in May and found it to be very consistent. This is about as good as it gets here in Seattle, and this wonderfully brewery is just a few blocks from where I work. (1,430 characters)

This poured dark black with a small caramel colored head. The aroma was of coffee, malt and smokiness. The taste was quite bitter and much like old coffee that has been on the burner a little too long. The mouthfeel was okay. There was a little too much bite for a stout and a strong bitter and burnt taste. I am not likely to try this again in the near future. I think I'd go for the Guiness nitro bottles first. I've really enjoyed most other stouts more than this one from Pike Brewing. (508 characters)

Imagine that...me following bjohnson around.
Another gem on tap at Redbones...you better get there soon.
Arrived jet black with no speck of light passing thru this bad boy...a half a finger of cocoa-colored head. Would have been more if I was pouring, but they like to pour 'em this way...I ain't complaining and I won't dock it any in appearance. This beer was gorgeous and the lacing was so incredibly tight, unlike most...most of the foam sticks around for the duration of the pint.
Milk chocolate in the nose...a touch of sweet malt pierces the nostrils calling me in for closer inspection.
The taste is as good as it gets...perfectly balanced, not overly sweet and even a bit green, drying out the finish. Very nice chocolate profile, a roasty element is there with no burnt or off flavors. Alcohol peaks thru as it hits room temperature, but ever so slightly.
Mouthfeel is full bodied and the carbonation is perfect...I could easily drink this one all evening and appreciate every sip.
One of my favorite stouts to date. (1,032 characters)

Got a 22 ounce bottle on sale. pours a deep black with a small amount of slightly creamy head that disappears quickly. I pick up the roasted malts on the first smell, second i come up with a little bit of coffee and very small amount of black licorice, not too strong of smell but i am definitely interested. first taste goes down nice and smooth, with a very drinkable flavor, easy to pick out individual malts. roasted and darker caramel malts. the finishing aftertaste blends all the flavors and ends with that sweetness and then hint of coffee. Very solid brew, easy drinking with tons of dark malt flavors. (611 characters)

Taste, licorice is more restrained, coffee dominates. Sweet. Hoppy. Bitter. Chocolate more on the palate than in the nose. Dry. Good mouthfeel, everything sticks. Drinkable, but a little pricey. (274 characters)

Poured into a New Belgium goblet black with a one fingered tan head. Minimal lacing. Scents of chocolate and roasted malts. Not much of a hop presence in the taste, mostly smokey dark chocolate with nutty flavors on the back end of the palatte. There isn't a presence of alcohol, which makes this a good drinkable stout. (320 characters)

Big pour, dark/dark brown and opaque. Orange carbonation settles down in about 60 seconds. Laces in looping clumps. Coffee and orange rind-like impresssion to the big aroma. Flavor is somewhat more limited, a dark roasty coffee, slight sense of malted milk and the requisite scant hop. Mouthfeel is about medium to thinnish, but I pick up an offputting vegetable, almost smoked onion, sense to the profile. Not dominant by any means, just slightly annoying. Not an awful beer, but not a first choice to my tongue.

T: mocha latte. no lie. good stout, not too sweet nor too bitter. on the other hand, the after taste has the waning around of flat coke and paint thinner. month too long to wait?

M: pretty flat and dry, robust eagerness fades away quickly. by the time you take another sip you realize the taste that lingers in your mouth is what you just put back inside to wash it away...flimsy character, short life.

O: wantaway stout that remains local because of it's ill-perceived stance in a relatively competitive category. (923 characters)

Beer the color of rich potting soil. Black with earthy reddish highlights that barley show in through this opaque brew. The fluffy sticky head is some of the most colorful I've seen. It is a smooth brown that looks like coffee right after some heavy cream is added. It dissipates to some heavy lacing and a light thin brown film and a few stray islands of bubbles.

Smell is stout-ish but not as big and bold as I was hoping. There are some roasted grains mixed with dark coco and coffee. A hop bitterness is detectable but faint as is a dark fruit nose.

The taste delivers where the nose falters. There is big dark chocolaty flavors that mask coffee notes. Then comes a pleasing acrid roasted malt flavor mixed with some hops. I don't know how many hops they used but for them to be apparent through the dark mask of flavors is fantastic. The one draw back is an overly sweet finish that makes the back of my throat feel like I just powered down a Hershey bar.

Mouthfeel is brilliant. A mild carbonation yields a super smooth and creamy brew. Slick and palate coating brew that almost feels like I could spread it on some cupcakes as a chocolate frosting.

The excess sweetness kills the drinkability to me. I love the look and the nice bitterness mixed with sweet taste but the finish is way to sugary for me. I want a beer that I feel compelled to drink more then one of. Great flavors but a poor finish. (1,410 characters)

Poured from a bomber into my DFH snifter. Split with BAs infi, NYManc and johnjae.

Pours a dark brown that manages to actually stay brown as opposed to resolving into the typical inky blackness of most stouts. Smallish head that dissipates quickly, leaving some sticky, splotchy lacing. Smell is full of dark chocolate and some dark fruits. Just a slight bit of alcohol towards the end.

Taste is also full of dark chocolate with some roasted malts. The entire flavor profile is pretty roasted, come to think of it. Hoppiness is non-existent and all the bitterness comes from the chocolate and slight hints of coffee in the aftertaste. A very, very faint hint of alcohol towards the end. Mouthfeel is pretty slick, with a hefty body and a bit of chewiness. Goes down pretty smooth and finishes dry.

Drinkability is actually quite good. I'm suitably impressed by this stout. Didn't go into it expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. A respectable ABV and a pleasing flavor make this a great beer to share with friends. (1,025 characters)